Three Traverse City-area chefs are among the semifinalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards

The James Beard Foundation Awards shines a spotlight on the best and brightest talent in the food and beverage industry. The list of Restaurant and Chef semifinalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries, was announced today and are now available on jamesbeard.org/awards. It includes Leelanau County’s Randy Chamberlain of Blu restaurant in Glen Arbor, Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux of La Bécasse in Burdickville and Myles Anton of Traverse City’s Trattoria Stella in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category.

Selected from thousands of online entries, the prestigious group of semifinalists in the 19 Restaurant and Chef categories represents a wide variety of culinary talent, from legendary chefs and dining destinations in 10 different regions across the United States, to the nation’s best new restaurants and rising star chefs.

On Monday, March 22, 2010, the James Beard Foundation will announce the final Restaurant and Chef nominees, as well as Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Journalism and Broadcast Media nominees and special achievement award honorees, during an invitation-only breakfast at Dickie Brennan’s acclaimed Palace Cafe? in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The nominations will also be announced live via the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter page at http://twitter.com/beardfoundation. The list of final nominees will include five finalists in each award category, narrowed down from the list of semifinalists by a panel of more than 400 judges. Winners will be announced at the highly-anticipated James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception, taking place on Monday, May 3, 2010 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

”We are delighted to be announcing the nominations this year in New Orleans, home of 10 past James Beard Award winners,” says Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation. “As part of our national focus, the Foundation has begun holding our nominees press event in cities outside of New York. Last year, we presented the nominees in Chicago, and we’re looking forward to what’s in store this year in New Orleans.”

Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and continue to emphasize the Foundation’s mission: to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity. The annual James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in each of the following categories: Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Journalism, Broadcast Media, and special achievement awards. Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards program.